Ewarts petrol tap - size of small screw

[56G80S]

I finally got round to replacing the panic fitted tap from a lawn mower that's been on the Matchless reserve for the last 2-3 years with a Ewarts from my tub of petrol taps (also found a nice probably gas brass one that fits and works with a lever). I fitted the lawn mower tap from Dad's box of bits because I couldn't find my own store of old petrol taps. Then when I found the biscuit tin of unfitted new parts which had a new plunger with cork fitted everything good.

After a little reduction the round plunger slid in nicely and the banjo from an Ebay site works; no leaks with nice new fibre washers. I like the banjo on the tap as it allows me to adjust the pipe run to suit probably wrong for a 1956 G80S but.......

But I'm missing the small screw that stops me from pulling the plunger right out!

What do I need to look for?

The irony is that I had one, dropped it and the Borrowers rushed out and claimed it while it was on the lock up floor.

Johnny B

[GOLDSTAR]

they are tiny probably a small BA thread, maybe if you have or know someone with a small lathe and some BA dies to make one, otherwise perhaps a model shop who sells small fasteners for steam engines etc. I have made 8BA screws using brass and I also had to make a plunger for my Ewart tap the same way from a brass rod as I bent the original when linishing an oversize cork in the small lathe so it is possible but damn fiddley. [should there be an E in fiddley?]kind regards

[56G80S]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Ironically, part of the legacy from my Mum amongst the vernier, micrometers and assorted taps and dies are BA taps and dies from 0BA to 8BA. They're from differing manufacturers (LALL, Eclipse and others) but make up a set. But no thread gauge. There are small die stocks and tap wrenches as well.

I did think of removing the screw from the "main" tap as a guide but noted that in my tub of taps is one with the head of the screw snapped off. Clear they seize and being so small are sometimes difficult to remove; so I've left well alone.

Johnny B

[Rob Harknett]

Ashampoo_Snap_2017.08.08_14h00m50s_005_.png

All you need to know there. Perhaps DIY one. get a longer screw, put the un needed bit of thread in a pillar drill chuck, set speed slow and file, cut off unwanted end bit.

[56G80S]

Rob

That's brilliant, thanks a lot. Where the heck did you find that?

Wish I had a pillar drill. It might be battery drill in a vice.

Johnny B

[Rob Harknett]

Rob

That's brilliant, thanks a lot. Where the heck did you find that?

Wish I had a pillar drill. It might be battery drill in a vice.

Johnny B

Ewarts website

[GOLDSTAR]

I'm pretty sure the whole of my Ewarts are brass, cutting a small BA thread on very small diameter steel would be, I suggest, quite worrying perhaps the brass ones are smaller, I havn't checked mine but I'm sure they are smaller than 4BA, so you really do need to I/D the size and the thread. kind regards
thinking this over in my mind having typed the post I'm pretty sure the 'button' which holds the corks was in fact 4BA but the retaining grub screws are much smaller , well in my tap anyway.

[robcurrie]

thinking this over in my mind having typed the post I'm pretty sure the 'button' which holds the corks was in fact 4BA but the retaining grub screws are much smaller , well in my tap anyway.

Richard, your taps have been modified, on original taps the shaft is rivetted onto the button, the only screw is the one retainer.
Rob C

[GOLDSTAR]

maybe we are at cross purposes here Rob, the taps I am speaking of are Ewarts brass main and reserve, there are two cylindrical corks which sit over the plungers longitudinaly, probably a better word than 'button' these then enter a thread on the push/pull button, without this thread and were the end to be peened it would be necesary to grind off the peening to replace the cork, the in line type as supplied by the club do have the buttons peened, well some do others just fall off, these take a different wider and flatter cork replaced by removing the top and bottom of the main casing,I assume it is of the brass type we speak, I cannot see in the other kind of tap anywhere that the small screw illustrated by Rob would be necessary. kind regards

[Rob Harknett]

maybe we are at cross purposes here Rob, the taps I am speaking of are Ewarts brass main and reserve, there are two cylindrical corks which sit over the plungers longitudinaly, probably a better word than 'button' these then enter a thread on the push/pull button, without this thread and were the end to be peened it would be necesary to grind off the peening to replace the cork, the in line type as supplied by the club do have the buttons peened, well some do others just fall off, these take a different wider and flatter cork replaced by removing the top and bottom of the main casing,I assume it is of the brass type we speak, I cannot see in the other kind of tap anywhere that the small screw illustrated by Rob would be necessary. kind regards

I thought we were talking about the tap with one button, which you pull on, then turn to lock on. The screw in the diagram I posted is for this tap. The end of this screw runs in a L shape groove in the plunger on the end of which is one cylinder cork.